Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

  ...you share it with  Ronny Mauricio .  Long touted as the Mets most talented infield prospect, he made his MLB debut in 2023, but has been sidelined since the winter of 2024 by a serious knee injury.  Tall and lanky, he impressed with 20 or more home runs in '21, '22 and '23 -- adding 20 more stolen bases his last two years.  Said to be within a month of returning to minor league action, he could provide a boost to the Mets later this year, or help bring back pitching depth in a possible trade. Mauricio shares his birthday with one of the most revered names in Mets franchise history: Gil Hodges, the 1st baseman of the Dodgers "Boys of Summer, who made the borough his home -- even after the franchise moved to LA -- then helped re-launch National League ball with the original 1962 Mets.  He hit the franchise's first home run -- one of the 369 in his Cooperstown-bound career.  A no-nonsense ex-Marine, he retired to become manager of the then-strugglin...

Monday's Phillies home opener was a fun one to catch on TV -- so I had to tap my photo archive to spotlight the change-makers...  What began as a pitching duel between the Rockies' German Marquez and the Phils Cristofer Sanchez turned in a different direction during the bottom of the 7th -- when, with two outs and two on, supersub  Edmundo Sosa doubled in the tying and go-ahead runs.  (This is how Sosa looked last May 18th, when he was again filling for Trey Turner at shortstop.) Next to hit: DH Kyle Schwarber who sealed the victory with a two-run home run off the batter's eye beyond center fielder.  It was his third bomb of the young season!  Despite playing three of their first tour games on the road, the Phillies are off to a fast start at 3-1. as they look to repeat as NL East champs.